Dictation machine



Sept. 15, 1931. v, BODINE 1,823,723

DI'CTATION MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

A. VB ode/1e,

AT RNEY A. V. BODINE DICTATION momma Sept. 15, 1931.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. A. Vfladuee W6 E ORNEY Filed Sept. 21. 1927 pt- 15, 1931- A. v. BODINE 1,823,723

DICTATION MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. A.V;B0dt'r1e,

AT NEY Patented Sept. 15, 1931 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALFRED V. BODINE, OF FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO DICTAPHONE COR- PORATION, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF, NEW YORK DICTATION MACHINE Application filed September 21, 1927. Serial No. 220,939.

This invention relates to dictation machines, and more particularly to improved means for controlling such machines.

Dictation machines have heretofore been provided with a device for stopping the machine during the typewriting of matter previously reproduced, and for starting the machine again to listen to further reproduction of the matter yet to be typed. Such machines have also been provided with a device for repeating matter previously reproduced to enable the operator to listen to matter a second time, for the purpose of assuring herself that the matter was correctly understood and for picking up the trend of the matter after a pause, as when typing or after performing some other duty such as answering the telephone.

Heretofore, the first mentioned device, called the stop-and-start device, was operated by a control device located at a point remote from the dictation machine, usually on the floor, so that the operator could control the device without removing her hand from the typewriting keyboard and consequently could typewrite substantially continuously.

The other. control device, hereafter called the repeating device, was also operated by a control device located at a point remote from the dictation machine, but this remote control device was heretofore placed on the side of the typewriting machine frame. To operate the repeating device, it was necessary for the operator to take her hand from the position above the keyboard and thus lose for the moment the correct touch-system position of her fingers relative to the keys.

Hence, in 'order that the operator may operate the repeat device without removing her hand from the typewriting position, the

present invention provides a remote control device adapted to be supported on the floor so that it may be operated by the typists foot, and thus, according to the present invention, the typist may control both the stop-and-start device and the repeating device by foot.

The provision of this additional foot-operated control vdevice, however, has promore easily under the pressure of work.

Further, when the control devices were separate and separated from each other, their positions relative to each other and to the floor were frequently inadvertentlyor 'accidently changed so that the operator often operated the wrong control device at the wrong time.

These disadvantages have been overcome by the present invention by the provision of a control unit having separately operable control devices held thereon in predetermined juxtaposed position, so that when the operators foot is in position to operate one of the control devices, the start-and-stop device, for instance, only a slight sidewise shifting of the foot is necessary in order to operate the other control device, the repeater for instance. 7

This is an extremely advantageous feature, for it enables the typist to operate the repeating device quickly and without fishing about on the floor to find the same, and further enables the opreator to quickly and easily return her foot to the start-and-stop control which, in the normal operation of the machine, is operated immediately after the repeater control has been operated, so that the machine may operate to repeat the matter desired.

Other features and advantages inafter appear. r g

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a desk with a typewriter attached, and along side of the desk a dictation machine of the transcribing type, the control device of the present invention being shown .under the deskin position to be engaged by'the operators foot.

Fig. 2 is a top-plan view,.partly in sec- 'will hereform of the device shown in Fig. 3, a single lever being adapted to control both the footcontrolled devices, and an adjustable heel plate being provided on the base therefor.

As shown in Fig. 1, the typewriter 10 is mounted on a desk 11 under which is placed the control device 12 of the present invention. Along side of the typewriter desk is a dictation machine 13 having a mandrel for supporting a record 14 so that a sound-box 15 may travel over its surface to reproduce matter recorded thereon. The sound-box 15 is provided with a flexible tube 16 connected to the ear pieces 17 which the operator supports upon her head so as to receive the sound reproduced from the record 14. The dictation machine also comprises a clutch mechanism 18, forming part of the stopand-start device, and a repeating device 19 upon the operation of which the sound-box 15 is moved backwardly over the recordsurface so as to be in position to again reproduce matter previously reproduced. The stop-and-start mechanism in the form shown is operated by air forced through a flexible conduit 20 when the foot-controlled device 21 is operated, and the repeater mechanism is similarly operated by air being forced through a flexible conduit 22 when the footcontrolled device 23 is operated.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the mandrel 14 for supporting the record 14 in the type of machine shown in the accompanying drawing, is provided with a shaft 24 supported in a housing 25 forming part of the machine frame 26. Loosely mounted on the end of the mandrel shaft 24 is a pulley 27 driven by a belt leading from a motor (not shown). This pulley 27 is provided with clutch teeth 28 adapted to cooperate with a clutch disc 29 splined to the mandrel shaft 24 and adapted to be moved longitudinally 'by means of a grooved collar 30 to bring it into engagement with the clutch teeth 28 on the pulley, and thus connect the pulley and the shaft for simultaneous rotation. The grooved collar 30 is adapted to be engaged by a clutch shifter 31 pivoted on trunnions 32 mounted in the'housing 25, and the clutch shifter itself is operated by ineans of a link 33 having a pivotal connection 34 to an arm 35 forming part ofthe clutch shifter 31. The link 33 is connected to a piston 36 slidand the record is reproduced. In the reverse movement of the air in the flexible conduit 20, when the foot is raised atmospheric pressure on the cylinder 36 causes the reverse operation of the parts with the result that the clutch is disconnected and the pulley al-' lowed to run idly. The clutch mechanism per se is substantially the same as that shown in the patent to Lucarelle and Frykman, No. 1,624,174, dated April 12, 1927, to

which attention is directed for a more complete understanding of the same.

Referring now to the back-spacing or repeating mechanism, the sound-box 15 is mounted in a carriage 39 adapted to slide to and fro on a guide rod 40 and to move in reproducing direction under the influence of a feed-screw 41 diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1. In order toback-space the carriage so as to cause the sound-box 15 to repeat matter previously reproduced, the carriage is provided with a back-space lever 42 supporting a pawl 43 adapted to engage a toothed bar or rack 44 on the frame 26 of the machine, so that when the key 42 is depressed the pawl 43. drives the carriage backwardly a predetermined extent at each operation. The back-spacer is disclosed more fully in the patent to Macdonald No. 1,030,740.

To back-space or repeatautomatically and without making it necessary for the operator to reach over to the dictation machine to cause it to'repeat, there is provided aback-spacing bail 45 adapted to overlie an arm 46 on the back-spacing lever 42. This bail 45 is provided with operating mechanism comprising an interponent 47, see Fig. 4, which is so situated that when moved laterally it is brought into position to be operated by one or more pins or'cams 48 mounted on the pulley 27.

, The interponent 47 is loosely mounted on a stud 47 to rotate thereon for operating the back-spacer, and to swivel sidewise thereon to be brought into and out of range of the cams 48. The interponent is coupled by a pin-and-slot connection with an actuating arm 49 pivoted on the stud 47' and having an arm 49' adapted to engage a pad 50 mounted on an arm 51 secured to the shaft 52 of the bail 45. Thus, when the interponent 47 is rotated on the stud 47 the arm 49 of the actuator 49 rocks the shaft 52 of the bail and causes the bail to operate the arm 46 on the back-space lever.

ICC

Normally, however, the interponent 47 is held in the position shown in Fig. 2 out of range of the cams 48. This is accomplished by a trip-lever 53 whose upper end engages a forwardly extending arm 54 on the interponent. The trip-lever 53 is pivotally mounted on the frame and has a rearward angular extension 55 located in front of a pin 56 on a piston 57 adapted to move in a cylinder 58 secured to the frame 26 of the The cylinder 58 is connected to the flexible conduit 22 so that when air is forced through the conduit 22 by operation of the, foot-controlled device 23, the piston 57 will move outwardly and cause its pin 56 to engage the arm 55 of the trip-lever 53 and release the interponent .so that a spring 59 associated therewith will cause the rear end of the interponent to move laterally into the path of the cam 48.

Since the pulley 27 continually rotates while the machine is in use, the cams 48 immediately engage the interponent 46 and rock it upwardly causing the arm 49' on' the actuator to rock the bail shaft 52 and backspace the carriage.

The automatic back-spacing mechanism,

above described and illustrated in the drawings, is disclosed and claimed in the United States Letters Patent No. 1,649,965, which issued November 22, 1927 on an application of J. M. Lucarelle. The foot-controlled devices 21 and 23 may, for convenience sake, be identical, although they may," of course, within the scope of this invention, be different from each other and substantially different from the form herein disclosed. However, the kind of foot-controlled device herein disclosed has been found to give very little trouble and has been found to be extremely advantage.,

ous in use.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the footcontrolled device comprlsesa pedal 60 connected to a disk 61 supported in a housing 62 and maintained.therein by engagement with a flange 63 on the housing. At its lower end, the pedal is provided with a stud 64 contactingwith the bottom of a depression in a piston 65 slidably mounted in the housing 62 and normally urged upwardly by springs 66 to the limit of its move-' ment in which the flange 63 is in engage-' ment with the edge of the disk 61. The

' housing is provided with a duct 67 com-- municating with the end of the flexible conduit. When the pedal 60 is depressed, it forces the air from the chamber 68 in the housing 62 through the duct 67 and through the flexible conduit connecting the foot-H foot-controlled device 23 is operated it forces air through the conduit 22 leading to the repeat mechanism.

When the pedal 60 of the foot-controlled device is operated by a rocking movement the disc 61 engages at part of its edge with part of the flange 63 on the housing 62 and this causes the stud 64 to slide in the depression in the piston 65 and cause the latter to be operated. Thus, the foot-controlled device illustrated in Fig. 3 may be operated by either a tilting or rectilinear movement.

The foot-controlled device per se described and illustrated herein is disclosed and claimed in the United States Letters Patent No. 1,652,029 which issued December 6, 1927, on an application of J. M. Lucarelle. As-referred to above, in order that the foot-controlled devices may be permanently located in close proximity to each other, the present invention provides a base 69 in the form-of a flat plate upon which the footcontrolled devices 21 and 23 are supported and to which they are secured by screws 7 O which pass through apertures 7 0 in the bottom plate 71 of the housings 62 in position to close the chambers 68. -The'base 69 is preferably provided with a rubber pad 72 or other friction producing means so that it will not easily slide on the floor. Thus, the two foot-controlled devices are located close together and in permanent relation to one another so that the operator may by merely shifting her foot sidewise operate either of the pedals 60. This is a particularly advantageous feature, for in the normal position of the machine, the operator maintains her foot in position to operate the foot-controlled device 21, and only when it is de sired to repeat moves her foot sidewise to operate the pedal 60 of the foot-controlled device 23. As soon as the latter is operated,

the operator returns her foot to the stopand-start foot-controlleddevice 21 to start the machine and listen to the matter to be reproduced again, the operation of the footcontrolled devices 21 and 23 being alternate and in close sequence.

In order to permit one of the foot-controlled devices to be moved to or from the other to suit the convenience of any par- The present invention also embraces the idea of providing means whereby the movement of the foot-in-one way operates the stop-and-start and movement of the foot in another way operates the repeating mechanism. Accordingly, in the modification of the invention shown in Fig. 5, a single pedal 60a is centrally pivoted on a stud 74 mounted in a standard 75 projecting upwardly from the plate 69w. With this embodiment of the present invention, the operator may in operating the foot-controlled device 21 allow her foot to rest in the position shown at B in dotted lines on Fig.5 to operate the stop-and-sta'rt mechanism, and may shift her foot sidewise to the position shown at A in dotted lines on Fig. 5 for operating the foot-controlled device 23 of the repeater. Since the pedal 68 is continuous and reaches across from the foot-controlled device 21 to the foot-controlled device 23, the operator does not need to raise her foot in this movemcnt but merely slides it on the pedal 60a. Or, the operator, if she so desires, may maintain-her foot normally in the position shown at C in Fig. 5 from which position the foot may be tilted either to the right or left to operate the foot-controlled device 23 or footcontrolled device 21 respectively, and thus the operator need not lift her foot at all to control either the one or the other of the mechanisms.

The pedal 60a may be connected to the actuating piston of the foot-controlled device in any suitable way. However, it is preferable to provide the pedal 60a with projections 60b to engage the pedals 60 of the foot-controlled devices, which then can be made exactly or substantial y the same as the foot-controlled devices shown in Fig. 3.

In order to enable the operator to easily maintain her foot in proper position for operating the foot-controlled devices, the present invention also provides means in the form of a socket or guide for receiving the heel -of the operators shoe. In the embodiment of this invention shown in Fig. 5, this socket comprises a curved plate 76 formed integral with an arm 77' adjustably secured to an arm or extension 78 of the plate 69a.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of tlfis invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others. I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters-Patent, is

1. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; stop-and-start' mechanism on the frame; reproduction repeating mechanism on the frame; and a control unit located at a point remote from the dictation machine and comprising a base for supporting it on the floor, a pair of separately operable pedals mounted in predetermined positions on said base in close proximity to each other, and flexible connections between said control device and said stop-and-start mechanism and said reproduction repeating mechanism.

2. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; stop-and-start mechanism on the frame; reproduction repeating mechanism on the frame; and a control unit located at a point remote from the dictation machine and comprising a base for supporting it on the floor, a pair of separately operable pedals mounted in predetermined positions on the base in close proximity'to each other, an impulse producing device operated by each of said pedals, and a flexible connection between each impulse producing device and said stop-andstart mechanism and said reproduction repeating mechanism respectively.

3. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; stop-and-start mechanism on the frame; reproduction reeatin mechanism on the frame and acontrol unit located at a point remote from the dictation machine and comprising a base for supporting it on the floor, a pair of separately operable pedals mounted in predetermined position on said base in close proximity to each other, a pneumatic device operated by each pedal, and a flexible connection between each pneumatic device and said stop-and-start mechanism and said reproduction repeating mechanism respectively.

4. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; sto -an'd'-start mechanism on the frame; repro uction repeating mechanism on the frame; a control device located at a point remote from the dictation machine and comprising a pair of selectively operable juxtaposed members for controlling the stop-and-start mechanism and for controlling the reproducing repeat mechanism, and a single means for operating either of said members.

5. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; stop-and-sta'rt mechanism on the frame; reproduction repeating mechanism on the frame; and a control unit located at a point remote from the dictation machine frame and comprising juxtaposed separately operable means for controlling said stop-and-start mechanism and said reproduction repeating mechanism, and means for adjusting one of said separately operable means relative to the other to increase or decrease the distance between them.

6. In a dictation machine, the combination of a machine frame; stop-and-start mechanism on the frame; reproduction repeating mechanism on the frame; and a control unit located at a point remote from the dictation machine and comprising a base for supporting it on the floor, a pair of separately operable pedals mounted on' said base in close proximity to each other, and

means for adjusting one .pedal relative to the other to increase or decrease the distance between the pedals.

7. In a control device for dictation machines, the combination of avbase; separately operable control devices mounted on said base; and a single means for operating either control device.

8. In a control device for dictation machines, the combination of a base; a pair of control devices mounted on the base; and a lever pivotally mounted on said base between said control devices and adapted when moved in one direction to operate one control device and when moved in the other direction to operate the other control device.

9. In a control device for dictation machines, the combination of a pair of separately operable control devices; a single pedal for alternately operating said control devices; a base for supporting said control devices; and a heel plate on said base adapted to position the operators foot with relation to said pedal.

10. In a control device for dictation machines, the combination of a pair of separately operable control devices; a single pedal for alternately operating said control devices; a base for supporting said control devices; and a heel device adjustably mountedon said base.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, this 19th day of September 1927.

ALFRED V. BODINE. 

